


In Times of Need

by Unknown_diva



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Asthma, Chronic Illness, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Hospitalization, Hurt Tony Stark, Illnesses, M/M, Physical Therapy, Pneumonia, Poor Tony Stark, Seizures, Sick Character, Sick Tony Stark, Sickfic, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:22:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26470327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unknown_diva/pseuds/Unknown_diva
Summary: Tony gets pneumonia but his reduced lung function and lower immune system make it so much worse.
Relationships: Bruce Banner & Tony Stark, Clint Barton & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Tony Stark/Avengers Team
Comments: 20
Kudos: 196





	1. A Little Pale

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Marvel/Avengers fanfiction story so I hope you like it :)

It was when he fell asleep at his second meeting of the day, Pepper ordered him to go back home. 

Tony had been up for four days straight trying to juggle the demands of SI and update the Avengers’ gear. He vaguely remembers consuming a smoothie at some point but by the way his stomach was trying to claw its way out it must have been awhile ago. 

Instead of calling Happy, Tony decided to walk the few blocks in the rain. The headache that was quickly turning into a migraine was dragging him down and he barely registered the slicing rain that was drenching his clothes. 

When Tony entered the Tower he was soaked and swaying on his feet, and the pain in his head was almost unbearable. It was the first time Tony didn’t want to go work in his lab and instead wanted to go to bed. 

Tony reached the common floor and stepped out of the elevator confused, water dripping a trail onto the floor. He suddenly couldn’t remember where he was going or why he was going there. He jumped when a hand grasped his shoulder. 

“Tony, are you okay? You look a little pale,” Barton asked. Clint looked worried at his friend as he looked around lost. 

“No, i’m-i’m fine,” Tony replied, stumbling away from his grasp and further into the room. “I just gotta-”

“TONY!” Clint shouted as the man promptly crumbled to the floor. He ran over and knelt next to Tony, checking his pulse and looking for injuries. He pulled his hand back in surprise at the heat that flowed from Tony’s forehead. “Jarvis, call Bruce!”

Bruce Banner, who was simply reading in his lab, arrived in less than a minute. “What happened? And why is he drenched?” 

“I don’t know! He just came out of the elevator really confused and then just collapsed,” Clint frowned, concerned. He saw Tony as a brother and hated to see him hurt. 

“Okay. Tony, hey.” Bruce lightly tapped the Avenger. 

Tony’s eyes squinted open for a fraction of a second before he closed them tightly and moved his hand to cover his face. 

“Tony, you gotta tell me what hurts,” Bruce said softly, still checking for injuries. 

“M’ head, n’ stomach,” Tony groaned. “Is okay, jus leave me here.” Tony turned so his forehead was pressed against the slightly chilly floor.

“It sounds like he’s sick with something,” Bruce diagnosed.

“Should we call Steve?” Clint asks Bruce. 

“No Steve, no Steve, no Steve,” Tony repeats, wincing at his headache. 

“Fine, but if you end up getting worse i’m gonna call him,” Bruce sighs.

Tony whines, gripping his head harder. 

“Let’s get you to bed.” Clint lifts Tony by the waist and brings him to a bedroom on the common floor. He dries him off with a towel and helps him change into more comfortable clothes.

Not even half an hour later, Tony is slumped over the toilet spewing out his guts. 

He grabs his stomach and moans in pain while Bruce tries to feed him medicine. Clint sits behind Tony rubbing his back. Every few minutes, Clint uses a washcloth to wipe off his friend’s damp face. It wasn’t until an hour and a half later Tony was resting in his bed.

Tony doesn’t get a full hour of sleep before he is back gripping the toilet again. Bruce and Clint come racing down the hall at the sounds. Tony throws up so violently he starts choking from not getting enough air. Tony grabs his throbbing chest and tries to focus on Clint’s stead back rubs, but he can’t help but panic. It only takes a few seconds for Tony’s lips to tint blue and his face to get even paler. Bruce shoves a finger into his mouth to help open up his airway while Clint hits him on the back. Finally, Tony takes a gasping breath as tears glisten in his eyes. He slumps against Clint’s chest as Bruce uses a washcloth to wash off Tony’s sweaty face. Tony goes limp but whimpers quietly at the shivers that overtake his body. 

“M’ cold,” he whines. 

“Okay, lets get you to bed,” Bruce smiles. 

While Clint puts Tony in the bed, Bruce runs and gets a thermometer. 

Clint lays Tony down gently on the bed and has to use the washcloth to wipe away the sweat that lingers on his face. Tony wastes no time in closing his eyes as his head hits the pillow. His head was pounding, his chest throbbed terribly, and all his muscles ached. He tried to ignore his stomach muscles which were contracting and cramping horribly. Clint could see the distress lines in his forehead so he ran to the bathroom to get another washcloth to lay across Tony’s face. He returned to see Tony laying on his side, curled around his stomach. Clint sat down gently and rubbed smooth circles on his brother’s stomach trying to ease the pain. He took pride when Tony relaxed somewhat. 

Bruce returned with the thermometer and placed it under Tony’s tongue. “102.9,” he reads. 

“That’s bad, right?” Clint asks cautiously. 

Bruce nods grimly. “Here’s some pills Tony, take these and try to get some sleep.”

Bruce helps Tony slowly swallow the pills and some water before helping him get comfortable again. 

Tony is asleep before the two boys even leave the room.

The next time Tony wakes up his nose is runny and his ears are clogged. The tip of his nose is doing a fine impression of Rudolph and his eyes have dark circles around them despite the sleep the man had gotten. “So cold, so cold, m’ cold,” he kept muttering while shifting bed. He reached down to the bottom of the bed to throw more comforters on top of himself. When Bruce came to check on him a few minutes later he freaked. 

“Tony! You’re gonna make yourself overheat. You can’t use all these blankets,” Bruce chastised. 

“But m’ cold,” Tony whined. 

“I know you feel cold inside, but your body is extremely hot externally. You can have one blanket but no thick comforters.”

Tony wants to cry. 

“Steve is on his way,” Bruce adds.

Tony does cry.

“He’s gonna be mad,” Tony cries. 

“He will not be mad, it’s not your fault you got sick,” Bruce sits on the side of the bed. 

Tony just shakes his head. 

“Try to get some rest before he comes, alright?” Bruce moves a piece of hair out of his eyes and brings the thin blanket up closer to his shoulders. 

`````````````````````````````

The next time Tony wakes up he is in Afghanistan.

“I wont build it!”. 

Tony wake up.

“Yinsen! No Yinsen please!” 

Tony, baby, please wake up. 

“I won’t build it!”

Tony, it’s Steve, you’re just having a nightmare, just wake up.

“Steve?”

Tony wakes to his favorite baby blue eyes. 

“How are you feeling, baby?” Steve rubs his thumb across Tony’s cheek. 

“It hurts,” Tony whispers, melting into his touch. 

“I know, but we are gonna make it all better soon, okay?” Steve brushes his hair back and leaves a kiss on his forehead before walking to the other side of the room to talk to Bruce. 

“Temp?” Steve asks, letting out an anxious breath. 

It was scary to see Tony that way. His pale, flushed face covered in sweat. He was constantly trembling and his voice was extremely raspy. He was incoherent due to the pain and Steve just wanted to take it all away but he knew he couldn’t. 

“103.7,” Bruce replied, “He’s getting dehydrated. We might have to bring him to the hospital if he doesn’t improve soon. The medicines aren’t working at all.”

Steve only sighs. He could feel the stress lines imprinting themselves on his forehead. 

Clint comes back with a glass of water and hands it to Steve. 

Steve takes it anxiously before approaching the bed that holds his sick husband. Tony was under the covers with one leg on top of them. He had his eyes closed but Steve knew he wasn’t asleep, just in too much pain to open them. 

“Baby, I need you to drink some of this,” Steve whispers. 

“It hurts,” Tony whines, curling into the blankets further. 

“Just take a few sips then i’ll let you rest,” Steve pleads. 

Tony nods slowly, eyes still closed. 

Steve reaches an arm under Tony’s back to help him sit up. 

Immediately, Tony cries in pain.

“Shh, just hold on baby. I got you. Just take a sip and then we will leave you alone,” Steve whispers. 

Tony’s trembling arms go to grab the glass but Steve brings the glass up to Tony’s lips so he doesn’t have to strain himself. After two sips Tony refuses any more. Bruce sighs in frustration from where he watches. 

“Baby? I’m gonna lie you back down now, okay?” Steve gently lowers Tony back to the pillows before handing Clint the glass. He presses a kiss to his husband’s face before exiting the room with the other two men. 

Outside the room the men converse.

“We are going to have to bring him to the hospital, he's dehydrated. They have equipment to treat him there,” Bruce says. 

“He hates the hospital Bruce. Is there anything else we can do instead? Anything?” Steve pleads. He would hate to have to fight Tony to get him to go.

Bruce sighs and rubs a tired hand over his face. “I might be able to grab some medical equipment from SHIELD’s medical center…”

“Then let's do that,” Steve says. 

“That's unless his fever turns incredibly high,” Bruce adds.

“Okay, what about-”

They are interrupted by a shout of pain from inside the bedroom. The men dash inside to see Tony curled into a ball gripping his head tight enough to leave marks. 

“Tony, hey, it's okay. It’s okay,” Steve sooths. 

“M’ head!” Tony cries. “Make it stop, Stevie help me!”

Tony’s head was throbbing fiercely. He couldn’t think clearly and he could feel that he was losing control of himself. His brain is who he is, he needs it to survive. Without it he isn’t himself, he isn’t Tony Stark. 

Steve gets in the bed and pulls the curled up Tony to his chest. “I’m trying baby, i’m trying to.”

Suddenly, Tony sits up and vomits water all over the blanket. It made Tony cry harder. “I’m sorry, i’m sorry,” he repeated before starting a round of dry heaving. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Steve repeated back, just noticing Bruce run off to get an IV in the corner of his eye. 

Steve holds Tony while Clint strips off the blanket. It’s when Tony is pressed up against his he realizes how much sicker Tony looks. His eyes are bloodshot red, matching his runny nose. His face is ashen with a flushed pink staining his cheeks. His hair is plastered to his forehead by the sweat that drenches his whole body. And his body constantly trembles in pain and weakness. 

Bruce returned but Tony was too out of it to notice when the Doctor stuck the IV needle into his arm. He groaned softly but sighed contently when Clint lay a new blanket over him. In seconds his eyes were closed and his body limp. Clint also brought a puke bucket next to his bed in case he couldn’t make it to the toilet. 

Bruce and Clint left to go talk in the living room, Steve stayed in bed, cuddling his hurting husband. 

```````````````````````````````````````````````````

Tony’s own body woke him up by a coughing fit, something that is extremely unpleasant with his scarred chest. It started out with light coughs but with his reduced lung function it quickly turned into wheezing and lack of air. After several seconds of non-stop coughing he could feel the redness travel up his face and his body tensing. He could vaguely feel Steve shifting in bed but he was too concerned with the elephant sitting on his chest that was preventing him from getting air. 

Steve woke up to the mix of coughing and choking, which is one of the worst ways to wake up if you ask him. It only took a moment for him to put two and two together and jump up to check on his husband. Tony’s cough sounded painful and the way his husband was gripping the sheets he knew it had to hurt badly. Steve sat up and grabbed Tony to pull him against him. There wasn’t much he could do except hold Tony steady while coughs ran through his body. He wanted to cry at the pain his husband was feeling. 

It felt like forever until Tony’s coughs were done and he could breath better. As soon as the coughs finished he collapsed into Steve. “Hurt so bad,” Tony rasped, his eyes closing. 

Steve just rubbed his chest soothingly, “Shhh, I know. It’s over now. Its over.”

“S’ not over,” Tony mumbled. The pounding in his head throbbed horribly and the dizziness was returning. 

“Shh, it’s okay, i’m here,” Steve soothed. 

Steve started to lower Tony back to the bed, but he had to stop when Tony cried out in pain. His muscles and joints felt like they were on fire and every movement sent jolts up and down his spine.. 

“Where does it hurt baby?” Steve asked softly. 

“Back, m’back n m’ chest” Tony slurred. His whole body felt like one big bruise and moving sent large shocks up his spine. 

“Okay, okay, we’ll check it out,” Steve hums, “Jarvis, call Bruce.”

Bruce, who fell asleep on the couch, ran in quickly. “What happened?”

“His back and chest hurt really bad, can you just make sure he’s okay? He was coughing pretty hard earlier he might have hurt a rib or something,” Steve asks. Tony stayed quiet, wincing at the flares of pain.

“Okay, let me examine him,” Bruce said, immediately entering doctor-mode.

Bruce walked over and felt down Tony’s warm neck. He felt his ribs to make sure they were all in place before running a delicate touch down his back. “Okay, it seems its just the illness making him sore. I will bring some muscle relaxers which should help.”

“Okay, thank you Bruce,” Steve says, his forehead still creased in concern. 

Bruce leaves to get the muscle relaxers and Steve tries as gently as he can to lower Tony back to the bed without jostling him too much. 

Tony can’t help but groan when he touches the sheets. “Don’ leave,” he rasps to Steve.

Steve smiles, coming to sit on the bed again, “Don’t worry I won’t, ever.”

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Despite Bruce’s optimism, Tony didn’t feel like he was getting better at all. The pain seemed to increase if anything. He could honestly say it was the worst he’d ever felt, and he’s living through palladium poisoning. 

In the morning, Tony couldn’t help but wake Steve when he had to use the bathroom. Steve, the best husband anyone could ask for, jumps up in seconds and is leaning over Tony on the other side of the bed. Tony refuses when Steve asks to carry him, he still had a little bit of dignity left. Jarvis, without prompting, alerts Bruce and he is next to Steve ready to help in a moment. 

“I know you’re hurting baby, so we are going to try to be gentle, okay?” Steve says softly. 

“Its okay, I'm okay,” Tony squeezes his eye shut and bites on his lip as they help him sit up. 

“You get his right side, I'll get his left,” Bruce says, “On the count of three we are gonna help you stand Tony.”

Tony doesn’t respond, but the men feel his body tense up. 

On three, Tony’s stomach plummets to his feet and his brain feels like it's in a blender. The men are quick to steady him as he sways. He can vaguely hear voices calling his name but it takes all his attention not to throw up over the floor. After a few moments he mutters, “I’m okay.” He hears the men sigh in relief. 

“Okay, we’ll take it slow, Tony, you set the pace,” Bruce says softly. 

Tony is scared at the effort it takes to slide his foot across the floor. Pain shoots up his spine, his chest tightens, and he can feel his mouth salivating to show his stomach’s disagreement with his movement. Each shuffle makes him moan and he feels bad for the men that are holding up his weight. 

“You’re okay, you’re okay, almost there,” Steve says softly as they move. His husband’s face is dripping with sweat and his wheezing becomes more prominent with each shuffle. He’s not surprised when Tony starts to slow down. “Take a break Tony, it’s okay.”

“No,” Tony mumbles, breathing deeply, “‘m okay.” Tony starts his shuffling again. 

Steve frowns but doesn’t say anything after a sigh from Bruce. He almost doesn’t notice when Tony stops completely. He does notice the alarm on Bruce’s face. 

“Tony?” Bruce asks cautiously. 

Tony keeps staring at the ground. Before Steve can say anything, Tony’s knees go out and the men tug him back up to keep him from face planting. 

“Lower him to the ground, quick,” Bruce shouts frantically. 

Steve snaps out of his shock and lowers his husband to the ground gently. Tony’s eyes are clenched shut and his body is completely limp. Not even a moment after Tony is flat on the ground his whole body jerks and he starts seizing. 

“His head, cushion his head!” Bruce shouts. He maneuvers Tony’s body so his head rests on Steve’s lap, instead of banging against the floor like it was seconds ago. “Clint!” 

Clint frantically runs into the room, Natasha appearing behind him, still wearing her uniform. She had just arrived back from her mission and Clint was filling her in. Bruce takes no time to order them around the room, still alternating between looking at his timer and Tony. “Clint, clear everything from this area and Natasha come help me hold him.” 

Everyone reacts quickly and does their assigned jobs. Natasha kneels next to Tony’s body and tries to keep him on his side. Clint finishes moving items out of the way and kneels next to Natasha. Bruce times the seizure but watches Tony carefully. Steve, he can only stare. 

Tony’s body jerks and twists in unnatural movements. White foam froths from his mouth and his bladder releases itself, causing a wet spot on the front of his sweats. Tony lets out repetitive pain-filled grunts and his eyes twitch under his lids. Steve blinks out of his daze and starts rubbing his thumb gently over Tony’s face. “It’s okay, love. Just hold on, it’s almost over, you’re okay.”

Natasha comes closer and places a gentle hand on Tony’s trembling arm. She caresses him back and forth, showing more concern than she has since they’ve met. 

It feels like forever until Tony’s twitches finally calm down and his limbs unclench. Steve wipes the mess from Tony’s mouth before smoothing out his rustled hair. Natasha takes Tony’s limp hand and massages the fingers that had been forced in their tense position. Clint and Bruce help move him onto his back so he’s more comfortable. They all wait silently and anxiously for Tony to wake up. 

Steve, with his superhuman hearing, is the first to pick up the small whimpers that escape from Tony’s slightly parted lips. “Hey, baby, come back to us now. You’re okay. Just take it slow.” 

“S’ve,” Tony whimpered. Bruce immediately starts checking his pulse and temperature, while Natasha gets up to retrieve a wet cloth. 

“Hey baby, i’m right here. We got you okay?” Steve smiles, landing a kiss on Tony’s forehead. 

“Wha ‘appen?” Tony slurred. 

“You had a seizure Tones, but it’s okay now,” Steve replied softly. 

Tony went to speak but instead moaned before vomiting. Bruce, already prepared, started turning him on his side with the help of Clint. “It’s alright Tony, let it out, It’s okay,” Bruce soothes. Natasha returns with a cloth and starts patting down Tony’s sweaty face before wiping off his mouth. 

“Are you finished baby? Think you can sit up?” Tony weakly nods, and after the okay from Bruce, Steve helps him sit up. He uses Clint’s help because Tony’s muscles are still stiff and weak. Steve pulls his husband into his lap and Tony’s head rests on his collarbone.

Bruce runs his hands over different parts of Tony’s body, checking for injuries. “Tones, does anything hurt?”

Tony whimpers, “M’ head, my chest.” 

Bruce listens to Tony’s chest, noticing his rough breaths. “Sounds like you’re a bit congested.” 

“Should we take him to the hospital now? I mean he just had a seizure,” Steve asks, concerned. 

“No, please, no,” Tony cries. 

Bruce sighs, rubbing his face. He believes this would all be much easier if they went to the hospital, but he knows Tony will resist as much as he can, hurting himself even more. “Okay, here’s what we will do. I will consult with some of the SHIELD doctors on treatments we can do here, but if he gets ANY worse, we gotta bring him in.”

Steve looks reluctant but nods after some thought. He looked down at his miserable husband and sighs.

“Let’s give him an ice bath to see if we can get his fever down,” Bruce says.


	2. Not Afraid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter addresses the thoughts of the other characters and Tony's declining health.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit short, but that's because next chapter has a lot of angst and action...

The ice bath did end up bringing Tony’s fever down, but Bruce was still concerned about how congested his lungs were. There was a rattling that was slowly getting louder every time Bruce listened to Tony’s chest. 

Currently, Tony was laying in bed curled up next to Steve. They had a humidifier running that was making the air moist, but Bruce did not see it working much. 

Steve had asked him earlier if he thought Tony was going to get better soon, and he didn’t know what to tell him. Yes, pneumonia was curable- but with Tony’s arc reactor and the damage from his Iron Man adventures was putting a large strain on his body. Tony never was particularly healthy with his drinking and smoking habits. Bruce just hoped Tony’s heart had a bit more juice left in it to let him make it through this. 

Clint and Natasha sat on the common room’s loveseat. Clint’s head sat in Natasha’s lap and her ankles were crossed on the coffee table. Clint’s knees were pulled up and his eyes were closed in thought. Natasha’s hand rested on Clint’s chest but her body was tense as she thought about her friend suffering upstairs. 

“He was dying and said nothing,” Nastasha finally whispered into the silence. 

Clint’s eyes opened slowly, but he said nothing.

“He was dying of palladium poisoning and he didn’t even tell us.” 

Both were silent for a few moments. 

“I don’t want him to die,” Natasha said finally, her voice cracking a bit. 

“He’s- he’s not gonna die,” Clint responded, “He’s just sick. Everyone gets sick, and then they get better.”

“No, you don’t understand. I saw him one day, replacing the arc reactor. It was horrible. It’s literally a huge hole that goes straight through his chest. His ribs and lungs were cut to make room,” Natasha recalled. 

Clint frowned. They both went quiet.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of. He’s Tony freaking Stark. He’s gonna be fine,” Clint finally said. 

“I’m not afraid,” Natasha said firmly, schooling her features.

Clint simply held her hand. 

Upstairs, Steve had silent tears running down his face. He looked down at Tony’s pale features and his hitching breath and he prayed. Steve wasn’t religious by any means, but he felt absolutely helpless. What the team didn’t know was that Tony hadn’t been feeling good for weeks now. It started with fatigue and restlessness but had upgraded to a cough- and he hoped the pneumonia wouldn’t tip the already sinking ship. Tony had been completely open with him regarding his health. He told Steve things that no one, not even Rhodey knew. Like the asthma attacks, the debilitating pain caused by the reactor, and how his doctor said being Iron Man combined with his lung issues would lead to an early death. When Tony told him, he had to be physically held back by Jarvis from trying to destroy Tony’s suits so he could never step foot in them again. But he gave in, and let his husband continue killing himself with each new mission. Part of him knew that all of this was his fault.

“I love you so much,” Steve whispered into Tony’s ear, tears clogging up his voice. 

Tony moved his fingers sluggishly to lay on Steve’s chest. “Love you,” he whispered back. 

“You gotta get better, baby. Come back to me,” Steve pleaded. 

“Always,” Tony responded. 

Steve smiled slightly before hearing a soft knock at the door. 

Bruce walked in quietly with a nebulizer in his hands. He watched Tony’s hitched breathing as he plugged it into the wall and hooked up the mouthpiece. When the machine was set up, Bruce walked over to the bed to get Steve’s attention. “Can you sit him up?” He mouthed quietly. 

Steve nodded before softly jostling Tony, who had fallen back to sleep. “Tones, you got to sit up,” he whispered. 

Tony groaned lightly before nodding sleepily. 

Steve stared for a second as Tony’s nose crinkled cutely, but the man made no move to sit up. Steve smiled and rolled his eyes before gently lifting his husband up to lay against his chest. Even though Tony was sick as a dog, Steve still felt warm inside seeing his small husband curled against his broad chest. 

Seeing Tony sitting up, Bruce handed Steve the mouthpiece before turning on the nebulizer. Steve coaxed the plastic piece into Tony’s mouth as the loud sounds of the nebulizer running woke Tony up a bit. 

“Deep breaths,” Steve told the man as his eyes fluttered. 

Tony hummed and grabbed the mouthpiece to hold.

Bruce picked up the garbage before heading back to the door. “I’ll be back when that is finished”, he says to Steve.

“Thank you,” Steve mouths, before grabbing the mouthpiece when Tony’s hand goes lax with sleep. 

It only takes a few minutes of the nebulizer treatment before Tony is coughing uncontrollably. Steve steadies him against his chest as Tony bends with harsh coughs. Bruce comes back into the room at the noise. 

“Cough it out Tony, its okay,” Bruce coaches. 

Steve frowns at Tony’s dry-sounding coughs, he knows they are painful. He remembers when his own mother sat at his bedside, patting his back as he panted. He hated the parallels he frequently found with Tony and his pre-serumed sick self. 

After a few minutes of restless coughing, Tony went limp against Steve’s chest, still panting from the effort. Bruce sits on the edge of the bed to listen to Tony’s chest. 

He frowns. “There’s still a lot of mucus build-up.” 

Tony whines in anger. 

“It’s okay,” Steve whispers into his shoulder. 

“Okay, we are going to try a different technique. Come to the edge of the bed Tony and lay on your side,” Bruce says. 

Steve helps Tony maneuver to the edge and places a pillow under his head to help him settle. Bruce stands in front of his back and places a soft towel over Tony’s side. “This shouldn’t hurt, but try to stay still,” Bruce says. 

Tony nods. 

Bruce cups his hands and starts hitting Tony’s side in an effort to dislodge the mucus. Tony starts coughing immediately and Steve reaches over to grab a bucket for Tony to spit into. This happens several times as Bruce forces Tony to switch positions. After he’s done, Steve helps Tony get comfortable in bed again. 

“How do you feel?” Bruce asks. 

Tony frowns, his chest doesn’t feel much clearer but he doesn’t want Bruce to feel like he didn’t help. “Better,” he grins. 

Bruce smiles. “I’ll be back to check on you later.”

Bruce leaves and Tony snuggles closer to Steve. “Try to get some sleep okay baby? You’ll feel better in the morning,” Steve smiles. 

Tony nods and tries to fall asleep despite the rattling that shifts his chest with every breath. 

Spoiler alert: In the morning, Tony does not in fact feel better. In fact, he feels worse. Way worse.


	3. Relapse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony goes on a mission instead of resting and ends up hurting himself even more. The doctors don't think he'll be able to recover from this ordeal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, I hope this angst makes up for it :)

Tony wakes up alone, which already adds to his horrible mood. 

Getting out of bed was a struggle from the dizziness that makes his head spin. His breaths are harsh and are followed with a rattle that vibrates through his chest. Tony feels ready to collapse on the spot, but the blaring alarm that comes from down the hall forces him to keep moving. 

He looks on his phone on the Avengers groupchat to see a mission alert for robotic dogs that are biting people in the streets of downtown Manhattan. Tony rolls his eyes at the idiocy of the world.

He can hear the bustle on the floor below him as his teammates rush to grab their gear and start up the helicarrier. After a lot of swaying, Tony makes it to the hall where his emergency suit is- there’s no way he would be able to make it to the workshop at this rate. 

"Sir, I was instructed to keep you resting in your room. The Avengers do not require your assistance today," Jarvis says. 

"We are a team, Jarvis. I can't leave them on their own," Tony frowns.

"But you are si-"

"I am not sick Jarvis! It is just a cold. Besides, a mission is more important."

Moving the suit from inside is agony on his fatigued bones and he can feel the arc reactor burning through his chest when the suit powers on. It hurts, but he has a job to do. 

Tony stops on the way to the helicarrier as his knees weaken and his breath gets caught. He bends over, leaning against the wall, trying to will away the black spots that cross his vision. 

“Jarvis, up the oxygen. And take control of the joints will you?” Tony coughs out. 

“Sir, I do not advise-” Jarvis starts, wearily. 

“Just do it Jarvis!” Tony scolds. 

After a moment, which was Jarvis’ silent sigh, the suit starts moving again and Tony relaxes. In addition, Tony is relieved at the salty taste on his tongue from the increase of oxygen.

Tony notices on the HUD that the helicarrier has already left so he coordinates his flight plan to fly him over to Soho. 

When Tony lands, his tracker tells him his teammates are near Washington Square Park, so he decides to start destroying the dogs here and meet them halfway.

The metallic dogs are worse than Tony thought- they can climb buildings and can run faster than the fastest greyhound. Tony heard on the com that SHIELD had already captured the mastermind behind the project but something went wrong in the schematics and the engineer could not get the dogs to power off. Which Tony is not surprised at- being a genius isn't for everyone. 

Luckily, Tony was able to shoot them down with a few repulsor shots but the hard part was just catching them. There were about 50 running up and down the street Tony was on. He was having trouble keeping up with the ones that had the clever idea of climbing the sides of buildings and balconies, but he could only imagine how much the rest of the team were struggling without flight. 

“Sir, it is proving detrimental to keep up the extra supply of oxygen while utilizing the repulsor beams which use up a large amount of energy. The arc reactor is weakening significantly,” Jarvis announces as Tony blew off the head of one of the pouncing hounds. 

Tony frowns, “Show power percent.” Tony grumbles at the 76%. He should have sucked it up and gone downstairs to get one of his battle suits instead of chickening out and using the emergency one.

“How many more mutts from here to Bleeker Street?” 

“34 sir,” Jarvis responds. 

“Has Steve figured out I left yet?” Tony asks, shooting another robot. 

“No, they are primarily occupied on the mission. It seems Black Widow’s guns and Hawkeye’s arrows are doing less than minimal damage to the robotic animals. They are struggling to keep the robotic dogs from attacking civilians,” Jarvis reports. 

“Okay, keep the power bar on the HUD as well as the remaining robot count. Let’s try to finish this up,” Tony sighs. His head is pounding and he would love a warm bath. 

Tony keeps shooting the dogs but notices how quickly the power is draining. 28 left. “Turn off the extra oxygen Jarvis.”

“I would not advise that action, sir. Your oxygen levels are decreasing with prolonged use of the arc reactor. In addition, your temperature has increased to just below 100 degrees fahrenheit. If I may, I believe you should leave the rest of the mission to the remaining Avengers and go back home to rest.”

“Jarvis, you said yourself the team is struggling. I can’t go home and rest knowing they could get hurt. Besides, I only have a few-” Tony is interrupted by a powerful cough that shakes his body. If it weren’t for Jarvis controlling the joints, he would have fell over. 

“Sir-”

“Jarvis, just keep going.” 

“Sir-”

“Mute!” Tony yells, hoarse. 

Tony can feel the strain on his body as it rushes to keep moving. His lungs burn harshly and he is now gasping. 

“Jarvis, charge up the energy explosion.” Tony figures if he can get all the dogs in one shot, he can go home sooner. “Charge to 400 in order to reach the radius of the next three blocks.” The short delay in the HUD’s information shows Jarvis’ silent anger but Tony just huffs. 

“Everyone get down!” Tony shouts into the com. 

He hears a loud “TONY?!” from his husband before everyone is knocked off their feets by the blast. 

In the moments after, Tony only recalls a flashing red light on his HUD before everything starts to darken. He can’t remember if its the arc’s power or his own vision that went black, but after a few screams and the large impact of his suit hitting the ground, he knew no more. 

\--------------------------

Two pairs of knees dive to the ground next to the still suit. 

“Tony, Tony! Jarvis open the helmet!” Bruce yells, still zipping closed his emergency set of pants. 

Without a word, Jarvis opens up the helmet.

“Vitals, Jarvis,” Bruce commands, already testing Tony’s eyes. 

“Temperature 103 degrees Fahrenheit, Oxygen level 82, Heart Rate is 164 bpm and rising,” Jarvis reports. 

Bruce frowns at Tony’s bluish lips. “He’s showing signs of cyanosis. Some call an-”

“Already did,” Nastaha interrupts, sitting down next to Bruce. 

“Tony baby, wake up!” Steve cries, pushing Tony’s hair out of his face. 

“His oxygen levels are way too low,” Bruce mutters. “Jarvis, can you increase the oxygen in the suit?”

“The suit’s power is too low. The backup power is going to run out in a few seconds,” Jarvis responds.

As he reports, they can all hear the loud whoosh as the suit powers down. 

“Get the latches,” Bruce commands Steve. “What’s the ETA on that ambulance?” 

“Two minutes,” Natasha says, helping Steve with the suit’s latches. 

Clint runs over after hanging up on the phone. “Fury is meeting us at the hospital.”

“That can’t be good,” Nastaha mutters. 

They slide Tony out of the suit. He slowly comes aware as his head is put in someone’s lap. Tony jerks up. 

“Calm down baby, calm down,” Steve shushes.

“Can’t breathe, can’t-” Tony gasps. He raises his hand to pound on his chest but Natasha stops him before he can. She rubs his hand softly to try to get him to calm down. 

Tony squirms in confusion. “I don’t...Where?”

“It’s okay Tones. Calm down, deep breaths” Steve says softly, leaning into Tony’s vision. 

“S’eve?” Tony cries. “S’eve, I can’t-” Tony is interrupted by harsh coughs.

“Deep breaths Tony, it’s okay,” Bruce says, lifting Tony’s head to help his airway. 

All of a sudden, Tony’s eyes roll to the back of his head and he starts seizing. 

“Shit!” Bruce curses. “Move the armor so he doesn’t hurt himself!”

Tony’s fingers curl as his body clenches and unclenches. His legs cross and bend at the knees while his upper half jerks back and forth. Steve wants to yell and cry at the same time as he hears Tony grunt for air. 

Bruce tries to wipe the foam that spills from Tony’s mouth while trying to keep him on his side. Tony flails and shifts so violently that Clint has to help him hold Tony’s legs. Natasha runs over to the approaching ambulance to guide them over. 

The paramedics arrive just as Tony’s seizure settles down. 

Still grunting, Tony’s body stops shaking but lays stiff. Steve runs his finger through his hair as Tony starts whining. “It’s okay baby, you’ll be okay, it’s over,” Steve says softly, his heart still beating out of his chest. Tony simply lays panting as his body involuntarily starts coughing.  
The paramedics immediately rip open Tony’s shirt to start attaching pads and wires. They put an oxygen mask on him before inserting an IV.

“Anthony Stark, 45 years old, breathing problems and sudden loss of consciousness. He just came out of a two minute seizure and has not regained consciousness. He has a history of lung and heart problems and has had a cough for a few days now. Tony has no allergies to medication and was previously treated at SHIELD medical center,” Bruce relays to the paramedics as he steps back.

Nodding thankfully, they lift Tony onto the stretcher before pushing him into the ambulance. Tony lays still throughout the entire process but still breaths harshly.

“I’m going with him,” Steve calls to the team as he climbs inside the ambulance, “Don’t let Fury past the waiting room.”

The team nod and run off to the helicarrier.  
\-------------------

“No one tells me anything!” Steve hears as he approaches the waiting room. 

“Could you just give us a chance to explain?” Clint says in his gruff voice.

“No! For days one of my Avengers has been sick and no one decides to tell me! Just who is the boss here? No seriously, because I guess I can just pack up now…”

“It’s not like that-”

“Let me just call Maria and tell her that I’ve been fired by my own workers! The kind of treatment I get here is insane!” Fury yells.

“That’s enough Fury,” Steve sighs. 

“No, you better listen here-”

“No, you listen!” Steve yells. “My husband is in there fighting for his life and he doesn’t need you blowing a gasket because we forgot- while we were SAVING HIS LIFE- to let you know. So be quiet so he can get some rest and we’ll talk about it in the morning!”

Nick stares at Steve’s red face before sighing and turning to leave, “Tomorrow” he says. 

Steve nods before sagging into the rough hospital chair. 

“He’s stable,” Steve says after noticing the team staring at him anxiously. “They got a big tube thing going into him and he’s got a bunch of machines beeping around him.” Steve frowns. His lack of medical terminology reminding him of his age. 

“A ventilator then,” Bruce corrects. 

Steve nods, tiredly. “The doctors are still doing tests but they said we can go visit him in a few hours.” 

The team nod and start getting comfortable on the stiff hospital chairs.  
\-----------------  
“Anthony Stark?” the team hears as they all jerk awake. 

Steve is the quickest and practically dives over to the doctor. “Is he okay? What’s wrong with him?”

“He’s...alive,” the doctor says cryptically.

“Is he going to be okay?” Steve asks, growing more anxious. 

“We don’t know, Mr.Rogers. It seems his lungs are giving out. We can’t find any other cause besides the pressure of his...occupation, as well as his medical history. We believe the stress of it all is what is causing him to become immunocompromised. The stress combined with his recent illness is causing his body to shut down. We will of course do some more tests, but please, prepare yourself. You can go see him now, he’s in room 91C” The doctor walks away, leaving the group of Avengers in shock. 

Steve’s Adam's apple bobbs as he tries to hold in his tears that threaten to come pouring out. Silently, he starts walking towards the room his husband is occupying with three Avengers on his tail. 

Steve’s heart drops and he stands frozen in the doorway. Tony looks worse than he had earlier. His skin has a grey tint, he’s covered with sweat, and there are twice the amount of machines surrounding him. He has wires that cross all over his hideous gown and large mask connected to a tube that dwarfs his face. The slow beeping of the heart monitor echoed Steve’s steps as he approached the bed. He stared down at his husband for a moment before taking his hand. 

Steve didn’t even realize he was crying before a loud sob broke through his throat. Steve looked up to see the whole team surrounding the bed, each looking sorrowfully down at Tony. Steve gently caresses his husband’s hand, getting even more worked up over how cold it was. 

Suddenly, a small groan is heard followed by a few whimpers.  
Steve smiles sadly as Tony’s eyes open weakly. “Hey, baby.”

Tony lazily takes in his surroundings. The team huddle closer to him. Tony’s finger twitches in Steve’s grasp. 

“I’m here baby, I’m here,” Steve whispers, covering Tony’s small hand with both of his own. 

Tony starts making choking noises. “Relax, Tony. It’s helping you breathe,” Bruce says softly. 

Tony continues trying to make noises. “Don’t try to talk baby, I know it hurts,” Steve says worriedly. 

Giving up, Tony’s eyes gesture to his hand in Steve’s palm. Looking over, Steve watches Tony’s shaking finger draw a small heart on his palm. 

Steve’s tears fall full force this time. “I love you too baby, we all do. Now get better so you can come back to us,” Steve smiles. 

Tony lets out a sigh as his eyes close again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please review to tell me what you think! See you next chapter!


	4. Got My Cap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More discoveries, not in a good way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the longer wait! I also am working on another Stony story so I am alternating between the two.

Steve wakes up to thumping on his hand. He opens his eyes, annoyed, prepared to yell at Clint for another prank, before quickly jumping up. 

He had fallen asleep at Tony’s bedside and it seems he has woken up to Tony having a seizure. Steve presses the button that calls the nurse’s station before moving to Tony’s head. 

“It’s okay baby, don’t fight it,” Steve whispers, smoothing Tony’s hair while using his other hand to keep him on his side. 

Tony grunts against the oxygen mask, his limbs clenching and unclenching painfully. 

A nurse opens the door and runs to the other side of Tony’s bed, holding down the oxygen mask which was shifting as Tony seized. Another nurse runs in with a syringe and quickly inserts it into Tony’s IV. 

“Relax, baby, it's okay,” Steve says softly as Tony’s limbs start slowing as the medicine takes effect. 

Tony’s seizing stops except for a bit of shaking in his hands, and his right leg still kicks out on random intervals. 

The nurses take his vitals before leaving to talk with the doctor. 

Steve moves closer to Tony as his whimpers steadily get louder. “I’m here, Tones.”

“S’evie,” Tony whispers, tense. 

“I’m right here baby, go back to sleep,” Steve smiles, placing his hand over Tony’s eyes. 

Steve can see the mask shift slightly as Tony tries to grin before letting his body relax. In no time, he is snoring softly. Steve sits back in his chair heavily, the excitement of the moment finally crashing through him. He sighs heavily before taking Tony’s hand and watching the man sleep with a frown on his face. 

He is awoken an hour later by Bruce, Clint, Thor, and Natasha walking into the hospital room. While the room was large (it’s Tony Stark’s room of course), they did have to squeeze in a little close- Clint deciding to sit on Natasha’s lap. 

“Good morning guys,” Steve says, yawning. 

“Morning Captain,” Thor smiles. Steve frowns at Thor’s outfit. It was unnerving to see Thor in normal clothes, especially since he recognized the shirt from his own closet. 

“Any changes?” Bruce asks.

Steve sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. “One seizure last night and another a few minutes ago. The doctor was considering switching him to the tube nose thingy-”

“Cannula,” Bruce correctly. 

“But his lungs are still having problems. They switched him to medication- no I don’t know the name but i’m sure it's written down somewhere. I think that’s it,” Steve concludes. 

Bruce nods before walking to the door to get Tony’s chart. 

“Has he woken up yet?” Natasha asks.

“He was up last night for a little bit, but he went back to sleep right after his seizure this morning,” Steve answers. 

Natasha nods. “Did you eat yet?” 

Steve shakes his head. 

Natasha pushes Clint off her lap where he barely avoids hitting the floor. “Clint, go get us food! Take Thor with you so he can help hold stuff.” She orders. 

“Hey! You could be nicer about it!” Clint glares. 

Natasha smirks before tossing a few dollars at him. “There better be a blueberry muffin.”

“I know,” Clint groans, leaving the room with Thor following behind him.

“A black coffee too, please!” Bruce calls to the pair. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Clint rolls his eyes. 

Inside the room, Natasha moves to sit on the other side of Tony, who sleeps on. 

“Are you okay,” she asks Steve softly, not removing her eyes from Tony. 

Steve stares at Tony’s hand in his. “I don’t want him to die,” he says, voice low. 

Natasha nods. They both sit in silence for a few moments. Nothing is heard but the sound of the oxygen machine, the beeping of the heart monitor, and Bruce’s mutterings about medicine. 

Suddenly, Steve frowns as Tony starts squeezing his hand. 

“Tones?” Steve asks softly. 

Small noises come from Tony as his eyes scrunch up. He starts coughing and his head moves lazily. Both Natasha and Steve stand up to move closer. 

Tony reaches his hand up and weakly moves the oxygen mask out the way. Before either of them could reach to move it back, Tony starts throwing up. 

Immediately everyone jumps into action. Nastasha runs to grab a basin as Bruce and Steve help Tony to sit up when they hear the man choking on his sick. 

Tony, limp in their arms, coughs up bile that rubs down his shirt and into his lap before Natasha thrusts a basin under his chin. A nurse walks in when the machine starts beeping from the low oxygen level. 

The nurse rushes over to replace the oxygen mask with a temporary cannula while Tony’s nausea starts to calm down. Suddenly, she notices something. 

“Did someone come in here and change his catheter bag today?” She asks. 

Steve looks down at the nearly empty bag. “No, not since yesterday.”

The nurse looks alarmed. She walks swiftly out of the room. Steve frowns but focuses back on his sick husband who thankfully has stopped throwing up.

“Deep breaths, Tony,” Bruce encourages as Tony’s wheezes become audible. 

The nurse walks back in. “I will have someone come change him and the sheets,” she says, taking on the scene. 

“That’s okay, we got it,” Steve says. 

The nurse pauses for a second. “Okay, i’ll have someone bring in a new gown and bed cover. He was due for a bed bath, would you like me to send in a nurse to do that?” She asks. 

“No, we can do that too,” Bruce responds. 

The nurse nods before leaving, taking Tony’s medical chart with her. 

Steve and Bruce, Tony still breathing deeply between them, shared a look. While they were slightly uncomfortable at the prospect of cleaning Tony, they knew he wouldn’t want some stranger touching him (or the arc reactor). In addition, they knew it would be much more comfortable for Tony who would probably be embarrassed in his vulnerable state. 

They looked at the sickly man who was already on his way back to sleep. Steve and Bruce both laid him back down gently.

“Nat, do you want to-”

“I’m helping,” she said firmly. She went to grab the materials from the nurse who entered the room. 

“Try not to get his wire wet, and try not to rip out his IV,” he said before leaving. 

Bruce went to close the window blinds and door while Steve lifted up the top part of the bed. 

Natasha went to the drawer in the room to grab Tony’s hair supplies. She turned around with the shaver and shaving cream in her hands. “I got this, boys,” she smirked. 

Steve rolled his eyes, hoping Tony wouldn’t be mad at them for this. He and Bruce started gently pulling Tony out the hospital gown, arm by arm. Without the cover, it was extremely obvious how much weight Tony had lost. His ribs were visible and Steve’s hand could wrap around Tony’s arm almost twice. 

While Steve lathered the sponge and Bruce set up towels on the bed, Natasha started on Tony’s hair using dry shampoo. She combed through it softly, since it had become matted up from his frequent resting. Tony whined a bit as the comb caught on a few tangles, but Natasha shushed him before rubbing his hair soothingly as an apology. 

Steve and Bruce worked diligently to wash Tony with the sponge while avoiding the tubes and wires. They had to stop when Steve’s hand got caught on the IV, but luckily it stayed in place on Tony’s hand. When they reached the arc reactor, Tony’s eyes shot open, immediately panicking at the touch. 

“It’s just me, it’s just me!” Steve softly. 

“S’eve?” Tony yawned. 

“Yup, it’s just me Tones. I’m just getting you cleaned,” Steve smiled. 

“Okay S’evie. Don’ take it,” Tony said, already going back to sleep.

“Never,” Steve responded, resuming his light touch. 

Natasha had cut Tony’s hair after she washed it, making it lower than usual since he would most likely be staying in the hospital for a while. She also shaved his goatee leaving him clean-shaven. Steve thought he looked cute, but it was harrowing to see how vulnerable he looked without his signature look. 

Natasha cleaned up all the equipment as they all finished. Steve put his hand around Tony’s back and went to lift him forward when Tony yelled out.

“Stop, stop!” Tony yelled in pain. 

“What happened Tony? What hurts?” Steve shouted, jumping back. 

“My back hurts,” Tony cried. 

“But we gotta put your shirt on, baby,” Steve frowned. 

“No, leave it,” Tony whined. 

Steve looked at Bruce who shrugged. 

“Okay, we’ll leave it, but tell me if you get cold okay?” Steve said. 

Tony nodded, wincing as he adjusted himself. 

Once everything was clear they opened the blinds and the door again. Clint and Thor came walking in with trays. 

“You locked us out!” Clint grumbled. 

“Oh shut it,” Natasha said, grabbing her blueberry muffin and slouching onto a chair. 

“Foods cold now,” Clint muttered, handing out trays to the others. 

As they all sat to enjoy their food, a doctor came in followed by the nurse they spoke to earlier. 

“Hello...Avengers,” the doctor started, unsure. 

Thor smiled and looked at the man’s tag. “Good morning to you, son of Jones.”

“Just Doctor is fine,” the man says awkwardly. “I’m here for some tests. It should be quick so you can all stay.”

They all nod as the doctor and nurse walk over to the bed. Steve gently rouses Tony by rubbing his shoulder. 

“Good morning Tony,” the Doctor smiles as Tony yawns awake. 

Tony nods at the doctor, who walks over to the machines to take notes. “Replace cannula with a mask, his oxygen levels are still low- boost to 12 liters.” The nurse nods, writing on the clipboard. 

“Okay, I would like to listen to your breathing, can you lean forward for me?” The Doctor asks, sitting on the edge of the bed. 

“His back is hurting him,” Steve says. 

The doctor shares a look with the nurse. “How about I take a look? Lets learn forward a bit Tony,” The Doctor says softly. 

The doctor puts his hand on Tony’s shoulder to help him lean. Steve can’t help but notice how big the Doctor’s hand looks on Tony’s malnourished body. Immediately at the movement, Tony winces. 

“It’s okay, baby,” Steve soothes. Seeing Tony’s eyes squeeze shut, Steve decides to get onto the bed and sit in front of Tony, so he can rest against him. 

Steve cradles Tony’s head into his shoulder as the doctor moves to get a closer look. 

“I’m gonna apply some pressure, tell me if it hurts,” the doctor instructs. 

Tony nods silently. 

The doctor pushes down lightly on several different parts of Tony’s back, but it isn’t until he gets to the lower back Tony starts wincing. 

“Kelly, note that Mr.Stark is experiencing pain in his flank regions,” the doctor concludes.

Tony relaxes slightly when the doctor finishes. 

“Now i’m going to test your breathing,” the doctor says, putting on his stethoscope. “Take a deep breath.”

Tony goes to take a deep breath but immediately starts coughing. He puts a hand on his chest at the pain. 

“Try again, take a deep breath and hold it.”

Tony tries and is able to hold his breath for about two seconds before he starts coughing again. 

“Okay, just breathe now,” the doctor says, still listening to Tony’s back. 

Tony coughs a bit before taking harsh, short breaths. Steve rubs his neck, noting silently how hot it is. He also rubs his hands through Tony’s hair, marveling at how short it is now. 

The doctor listens to Tony’s chest as well before getting up.

“Thank you very much Mr.Stark. I’m going to schedule you for a chest X-ray and a blood test. They should be by this afternoon,” The doctor says, snapping off his gloves and starting to leave. 

“Wait, what do you think is wrong?” Natasha asks. 

“Yes, what is wrong with our shield brother?” Thor pips up, a bit of jelly still hanging off his mouth.

The doctor frowns, hesitating. “I heard a bit of fluid in his lungs, so I would like to check to see what could be the issue. In addition, decreased urination, flank pain, and nausea are all signs of early kidney failure, so I am ordering a blood test to see if that is the case.” The doctor nods and flees a second later. 

The team freeze at the information. 

Tony, who was barely listening and trying to get his lungs to work again, feels tears flow down his back from where Steve was holding him. “It's okay, Stevie,” he whispers. 

Steve cries harder. “No it's not okay, you’re supposed to be getting better,” Steve cries. 

Tony pulls away from Steve. “Look at this,” Tony says, pointing at his arc reactor. “Now look at me.”

Steve looks into Tony’s sunken eyes. They are red, watery, and bruised but they look straight into Steve’s soul. “I am Iron Man, Steve. As long as I got my Cap, I'll be okay,” he says, a lopsided smile overtaking his face. 

Steve looks down at their wedding rings. Steve’s is a smaller replica of the arc reactor that’s in Tony’s chest, and Tony’s is a tiny replica of Steve’s shield. “Me too,” Steve grins back tearily. Steve pulls Tony in for a hug. 

Clint makes a throw up gesture at Steve’s back and Tony sticks out his tongue at the archer. 

The team walk over to join the pair. “Together,” Natasha says, giving them a rare smile.

Even though Tony was confident in his words, he wavers a bit when they roll in the big dialysis machine two days later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, let me know what you think! See you next chapter.


	5. Bednyy Mal'chik

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is Tony getting better?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! Enjoy!

“S’evie,” Tony cries. 

Steve was laying on the bed with Tony curled into him. He was near the end of last dialysis treatment for the week but was experiencing abdominal cramps. Steve was rubbing his stomach, trying to help him relax but it didn’t seem to be helping. “It’s okay, baby, almost over,” Steve said softly. 

“Hurts,” Tony cries, burying his face into Steve’s chest. The oxygen mask made the position uncomfortable, but Steve ignored it in favor of comforting his husband. 

Steve ran his fingers through Tony’s hair. He accidentally brushes up against Tony’s forehead and frowns at the heat. “You feel a bit hot, Tones,” he says. 

Tony moans, fisting Steve’s shirt weakly. 

“I just want to go home,” Tony cries softly. “I want to go to my workshop with Dum-E and U and Butterfingers and Jarvis. I want to wear my suit and fly and-”

“Calm down, baby,” Steve hushes as Tony’s breath hitches. “I spoke to Dr. Jones yesterday and he said he sees some improvement with the dialysis.”

Tony paused. “Really?” His glassy eyes looked up at Steve. 

“Yes, so hang in there okay?” Steve says softly, massaging his stomach. 

Tony nods slowly, closing his eyes. He was trembling slightly and felt like an ice cube inside, but he stayed quiet, trying to stay strong. 

Dr. Jones came a few minutes later to remove the machine. “It looks like you’re doing well on the dialysis machine, Mr.Stark. You are scheduled for some more tests tomorrow, but it looks like the dialysis is helping,” he reported. 

Tony gave a shaky smile. “Thank you,” he said softly. 

“They will be bringing your lunch in a few minutes and I want you to try to finish it. It looks like you haven’t been eating much and you are losing a lot of weight. You know what happens if you are not eating.”

Tony shuddered, nodding. “Okay, i’ll try,” Tony said. 

Despite his promise, Tony fought Steve as he tried to feed the gross looking food to Tony a few minutes later. Tony felt lethargic from the dialysis, but that didn’t stop him from flopping his head side to side to avoid the spoonful of soup Steve tried to feed him. 

“Please, Tones,” Steve pleaded. They had been fighting one spoonful for almost ten minutes now and Steve’s patience was thinning. 

“I’m not hungry,” Tony whined. 

“I know baby, but you gotta eat to stay healthy. Doctor's orders,” Steve said. 

Tony let out a few silent tears but nodded, opening his mouth slowly. 

Every bite of soup made his stomach bulge and growl in distress, but he ate just for the accomplished smile on Steve’s face. Natasha came in about three quarters through and sat at the edge of the bed, looking through a binder of notes. 

When the bowl of soup was finished, Steve finally let Tony relax and lowered the bed back down while putting back on the oxygen mask. Tony bit back a groan and curled onto his side.

“Can you get me some ice chips Stevie? My mouth is dry again,” Tony asked softly. 

Steve’s face melted at Tony’s pitiful look and nodded. “I’ll be right back,” he smiled.

As soon as Steve closed the door, Natasha grabbed a basin and wrenched it under Tony’s head, just in time for him to move the oxygen mask out the way and vomit. Tony heaved violently for two minutes, bringing up the soup and whatever else he had eaten before that. He was even reduced to dry heaving for several seconds, only bringing up stomach acid. Tears flowed from Tony’s eyes from the pain in his stomach and throat. 

“It’s okay my bednyy mal'chik,” Natasha cooes, wiping Tony’s mouth with a tissue. 

“Don’t tell Steve,” Tony asks as Natasha helps him get settled in the bed again. 

Natasha gives him a look. 

“Please,” Tony whines.

“Fine, but you must try to eat more. You probably threw up because your stomach isn’t used to the food,” Nastasha chides. 

Tony nods, snuggling further into the bed. 

“Okay, I got the chips,” Steve says, entering the room. 

“Thank you,” Tony croaks from the bed. 

Steve walks over and kneels in front of Tony’s head. He opens his eyes, smiling under the mask at his husband. Steve smiles back and slowly moves the oxygen mask to the side. “Did you miss me?” Steve smirks. 

“Always,” Tony whispers. 

Steve rubs his nose against Tony’s before spooning out some ice chips. He spends several minutes feeding them to Tony while Natasha rolls her eyes at the loving pair. 

By the fifth mouthful, Tony’s eyes are shut and he is breathing heavy. Steve stands up, not before pulling up the blanket and kissing his husband on the forehead. 

“Does he seem extra sleepy to you,” Steve whispers to Natasha. “These past few days he’s been so tired.”

“It’s probably the dialysis,” Natasha supplies. 

Steve sighs and moves to go sit in his usual chair. 

“No vonyuchiy mal'chik, you need to go home to shower and rest. You’ve been here forever,” Natasha says. 

“But-” 

“No, go!” Natasha says, pushing Steve towards the door. 

When the door closes, Natasha rolls her eyes before crawling onto the hospital bed and snuggling up to Tony. He hums and snuggles closer to her chest. 

“Love you, Nat,” he slurs, half sleep. 

“Love you too, now get some sleep,” she said fondly, pulling up the blanket. 

\-----------------------------------------------------

Several days later, the tests had come back saying the dialysis was helping and Tony was able to stop dialysis, which was a big relief. Despite the good news, Tony didn’t show much physical improvement. His cough was still present and he was still relying on oxygen to breathe. The doctors were trying out different medications to boost his lungs, but they had to be careful because of Tony’s other medical issues, including his heart. 

The team was once again crowded in Tony’s hospital room. Clint was instructing Bruce and Steve how to play a video game on the television, and Natasha was sitting at the foot of Tony’s bed looking through SHIELD files. Tony was sleeping, which is all he seemed to do these days besides refusing to eat. 

Seeing the doctor walk past the door, Bruce jumped up, handing his controller to Clint and dashed out the door. 

“Dr. Jones,” Bruce called. 

“Hello, Dr. Banner,” the doctor stopped. 

“Hello, I was just wondering if Tony Stark was going to be released soon? Since he’s been off the dialysis for almost a week now,” Bruce asked. 

“Yes, we want to observe him for three more days and on the third day we will do more tests. If they all look good, he will be released under your care,” the doctor says. 

“What about his lungs? He’s still on oxygen,” Bruce asks. 

The doctor sighs. “Listen Dr.Banner, Mr.Stark is getting older. We haven’t really found a cause so we are thinking its just his age-”

“Tony isn’t the healthiest man, but I think you should perform more tests. He was fine before this. He was fine,” Bruce says, getting worked up. 

“Okay Dr. Banner. I’ll look into-” Dr. Jones starts. 

“Help!” They hear coming from Tony’s room. 

The two men don’t hesitate before running over, finding the room in chaos. 

Tony was on the bed, face quickly turning blue, gasping for breath. His back was arched in his search for air, wheezing and clenching the sheets. 

The two doctors quickly move everyone out of the way, taking a different side of the bed. Dr. Jones listened to Tony’s chest while Bruce read the beeping machines. 

“Keep it on, Tony,” Bruce scolded when he noticed Tony trying to pull off the oxygen mask. 

Tony ignored him and pulled the mask to the side. Immediately he started violently coughing. Bruce frowned when he noticed the pink froth that painted Tony’s gown with every cough. Dr. Jones lifted the bed to help Tony’s airway and put a hand on his shoulder to calm the flopping man. 

“He can’t breathe,” Steve screamed hysterically, being held back by Clint and Natasha. 

In seconds, the coughing stopped and was replaced by weak gasps. By now, several nurses and doctors surrounded the bed, putting things into the IV and shouting orders. 

When Tony’s face turned completely blue and the wheezing came to an abrupt stop, Dr. Jones ordered them to bring Tony to an operating room. In two seconds, Tony’s hospital bed was out the door and all that remained were four rumpled Avengers. 

“What just happened?” Steve whispered. 

“His lungs are filling with fluid, they are probably going to perform a thoracostomy,” Bruce supplied, sitting down. 

“Which is?” Clint asked, still staring at the door. 

“They are going to get the fluid out by putting a tube in his chest and then they will have to do another surgery to keep the fluid out,” Bruce explains. 

Steve collapses in a chair, holding back tears and wishing his husband was in his arms again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation: Natasha calls Tony 'Poor Boy' and calls Steve 'Smelly Boy'.
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


	6. Recovery & Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can't believe this is the end! *Cries uncontrollably*

Steve was awoken by a team of nurses wheeling his sleeping husband back into the room. 

“He did so good Mr. Rogers,” a cheery nurse said.

Steve jumped up and approached the bed just as they were locking the wheels. He leaned over the railing and ran a gentle hand down Tony’s cheek. 

“How was the procedure?” Steve heard Bruce ask behind him. 

“It went perfect. We were able to drain all the fluid from his chest with the tube,” Dr. Jones answered while reading Tony’s vitals. 

Steve looked down and noticed the tube sticking out of Tony’s side between his ribs. It was bandaged in place and was connected to a bag on the side of the bed. 

“Is he all better?” Clint asked, from where he woke up on one of the chairs.

“He no longer has fluid in his lungs. We plan to monitor him for a few days to make sure he doesn’t have this buildup again and to make sure his medicine is working, but after that he should be free to go,” Dr. Jones said.

Steve gripped the bed railing to stop himself from collapsing in relief. “Thank you so much, Doctor,” Steve said tearfully. 

“We are not done yet,” the Doctor shook his head, “But you got a fighter there.”

Steve nodded, turning love-filled eyes to his slumpering husband. 

“He will sleep for the rest of the night, but he should feel better in the morning.” Dr. Jones used a syringe to insert medicine into Tony’s IV before stripping off his gloves and leaving the room. 

Clint, Natasha, and Bruce approached the bed. Tony had an oxygen cannula up his nose but this time he was breathing much better. The tube was large and noticeable but only because Tony’s body was pale and tiny due to all the weight he had loss. Despite his sickly look, they were able to breathe easy knowing he was on the way to recovery. 

______________________

Ten days later, Steve was standing in front of Tony’s bed next to the Doctor. Tony was sitting on the edge of the bed in front of them and the other Avengers surrounded them on all sides. 

Tony still looked tiny and sick, but he had gained some of his color back. Yesterday, after a lot of begging, Tony gave in and let Natasha cut and shave him. Instead of his typical-length hair, Natasha had cut his hair extremely low- a little longer than a buzz-cut- and had him clean-shaven. It was a lot less hassle during his recovery and Steve thought Tony looked cute with this younger look. 

Currently, they were trying to get Tony out of bed for the first time in several weeks. He was as weak as a kitten, but he had insisted on starting his physical therapy early so he could be mobile again. Since it had been two days since the chest tube was taken out, Dr. Jones said they could start. 

Dr. Jones directed Steve and Bruce to stand on Tony’s sides. “Lift him gently,” he instructed the men. 

They nodded at each other before lifting Tony under his arms. He grunted as his feet hit the floor and the men gasped as Tony’s knees immediately buckled as he was upright. 

“It’s okay, Tony, take your time,” Dr. Jones said. He had rushed up to them when the man was falling and was now holding him by the waist. 

Tony squeezed his eyes shut as his joints roared in pain from finally being woken up. His legs trembled and he was sweating already from just trying to stand.

“Breathe,” Dr. Jones said. Tony rushed out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. After another round of breathing, he finally felt his limbs connect with his body. He opened his eyes and nodded to the doctor. 

Dr. Jones searched Tony’s eyes for a moment before stepping back. “Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Tony looked down at his socked feet and willed them to move. He was able to shuffle them by forcing his leg forward. He didn’t have the strength to lift up his feet, but he was grateful for the almost frictionless floor that aided his motion. 

“You’re doing so good, baby,” he heard Steve say. It empowered him and he forced himself to shuffle a few more inches. 

It wasn’t until his chest boomed with a cough he even realized his tired body was starting to give up and more than half of his weight was being held by Steve and Bruce. “Take a breath, Tony,” the Doctor said and moved in front of him. The Doctor took exaggerated breaths as an example. 

As he gained his breath back, he lost the blissful ignorance he had of his body’s pains. His knees wobbled with the weight of holding himself up, his chest burned, and his head pounded. “Sick,” he coughed. “Feel sick.”

It was the only warning the group got before Tony’s body went limp and he started to fall to the side. Several people gasped and rushed to catch him. Tony’s eyes were still open but his face took on a green hue and he swayed uncontrollably. 

Steve practically dragged him back to the bed while the doctor fetched a basin. Just as the doctor placed it into Tony’s lap, the man started heaving violently. Steve held his shoulders to prevent him from falling face-first as his body seemed to be all out of energy for the day. 

The team stared at Tony worriedly. “Don’t worry, it’s just his body waking up,” the doctor told them.

Natasha grabbed the basin when Tony was done and brought it into the bathroom. Steve and Bruce helped pull Tony onto the bed and reclined it so he was laying flatter. Tony’s eyes fluttered closed but they knew he wasn’t sleeping yet. 

“You did good, Tony. Rest now and i’ll be back tomorrow. We’ll have you up and walking in no time.” Tony nodded slowly and melted into the sheets. 

The doctor checked his vitals once more before leaving. 

The team existed in the silence for several moments. “You don’t have to rush yourself, Tones. Take your time to recover right,” Bruce broke the moment. 

Tony nodded but they knew Bruce’s advice went out the other ear. Tony was committed to returning to the team and they knew he would push himself to get what he wanted as quickly as possible. 

Even so, they loved him for it. 

**Three Months Later**

Despite Tony’s deep desire to get back to Avenging, it was obvious now that was unlikely to happen. 

He has been home for more than two months now and he still struggles with day-to-day activities. All the damage from his sickness left him with life-long heart problems and severe asthma. 

On his good days he is usually okay if he uses the elevator to get around and takes naps during the day.

On his bad days, he needs assistance to get around and his oxygen cannula becomes a permanent fixture under his nose for the day. If he has enough energy to get out of bed, he frequently lays on the couch for hours and tries to force himself from going down to the lab to work. 

His team is a big help because on his bad days, they usually watch movies for most of the day or have a game night with cards and Monopoly (Tony always wins monopoly). 

He and Steve started using the ‘Spoon Theory’ to measure Tony’s energy levels each day. Tony typically starts out with 12 spoons and in the beginning he would have already lost half of them by brunch, but through physical therapy and his new nap routine, he is able to hang onto them for longer. 

Even though he cannot participate on missions, Tony still aids the team remotely by going back to his roots: coding, hacking and building. He hacks into security cameras to aid the team when they need and he builds and upgrades their weapons. In addition, he has more time to focus on SI, like their renewable energy initiative, which makes Pepper extremely happy. 

Tony has come a long way and is still recovering, but he is just so grateful he has his teammates and husband to look out for him in times of need. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this! This was my first Avengers fanfic so I appreciate each and every one of you that read and/or reviewed!! 
> 
> You guys are so awesome, thanks again!
> 
> P.S. The characters in this story may not have exercised proper seizure first aid so here is some research provided by SiriuslyCeri about seizures and the proper first aid: https://www.epilepsy.com/sites/core/files/atoms/files/SFA%20Flier_HQ_8.5x11_PDF.pdf


End file.
